Letter: "Ranked Choice Voting"

Did you know that nine of the 11 last governor’s races resulted in a winner who received less than 50 percent of the popular vote? I know I have voted strategically in some of these elections rather than voting for my actual preferred candidate. This is why I support ranked choice voting.

Ranked choice voting means that in a race with more than two candidates, voters could rank their choices. If no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, then the candidate with the least votes would be disqualified and an instant run-off would occur by counting the next choice of the voters on the ballots that had been cast for this candidate.

I believe such a system would be more reflective of the will of the people and would increase our choice in elections. If you are interested in knowing more about ranked choice voting or to get involved in the work to promote the referendum, you can go to fairvotemaine.org.